Standing Out
by Shikamaru Nara's Fangirl
Summary: Standing Out redone, rewritten, resubmitted. In the form of a really 25 page oneshot. Sam, who has never met her parents, goes to Amity Park to search for them. One in a series.


Hello! Milli here. Yeah, I originally deleted this. BUT I made it a one-shot.

And yall had better appreciate it. Look down at the start and end dates. Yeah, that's how long I've been working on this just to satisfy all of you. Oh, and one thing. For her article, Sam writes it, types it, and video tapes it. Just so there isn't any confusion. _(Shrug)_ I dunno, it's how I get things done. _(Minus the taping part)_ so, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls... Lisa. (D) I present to you... "Standing Out!: The One-shot"

Started: September 20th, 2006

Ended: October 29th, 2006

* * *

_My name is Samantha Manson, (but everyone calls me Sam) I am currently 16 years old, and I was told to write a paper for the school magazine on parents and their roles in the life of a teenager._

_How ironic is it that I, a person with no parents gets assigned to do this?_

_Anyway, the parents' role in their teen's life is…_

…

_Crap._

* * *

"Ugh. Okay, Sam. The _next_ time you feel like showing prissy preppy princess Alicia Remolds that she is not that great, by taking the most important article in the magazine, make sure you know what the article _is_ first." I sighed and ripped the paper out of my spiral and crumpled it up. I looked up and saw that it had landed next to the other… fifty attempts at this stupid article! Confused? Well, let me explain. My name is Samantha Manson, (but everyone calls me Sam) I am currently 16 years old, and I was told to write a paper for the school magazine on parents and their roles in the life of a teenager.

But there was one problem.

I don't have any parents. No, they're not dead; they just gave me up when I was only a few minutes old. They named me, and then gave me away. And no, I wasn't put up for adoption… technically. Technically, I wasn't put up for adoption. My parents gave me to my aunt and uncle.

Now, don't get me wrong, I love my Aunt Clarissa and Uncle Jacob. It's just… sometimes… I wish there was more.

Actually, I do know my parents. And by "know" I mean, I know they exist. So I'm not an orphan. But still... I wish I could know them. _'Okay, Sam. Focus. How parents' roles in their teenager's life.'_

"How's the article coming along, dear?" Aunt Clarissa asked, coming into my room with a tray of cookies. "Great, perfect, I'm writing about parents, to which, I have none."

"Sam," my aunt began, sitting on my bed. "Everyone has parents; even you. Your parents just decided that—well, they thought that your uncle and I could give you a better life." I rolled my eyes. "Try to understand that, Sam." Aunt Clarissa stood, gave me a kiss on the forehead and said, "Don't work too much on that article, Sammy. Don't be like a bee and work yourself to death." Then she walked out of my room, shutting the door behind her.

"…_they thought your uncle and I could give you a better life…"_ I scoffed and turned off my laptop. Closing it, I put it on my bed. Slowly, I opened one of my desk drawers and pulled out a bunch of letters and pictures. With these in my hand, I plopped back onto my bed. I put the letters down on top of my laptop and flipped through the pictures. My parents weren't exactly what you'd call "struggling to make ends meet." So, I ask you; a better life? Compared to _what_?

* * *

"Why does Little Miss Goth get the longest article in the magazine?" Meet Alicia Remold. Biggest prep in the world and was voted in the yearbook last year as "Most Popular" and she hasn't let anyone forget that fact, either. "I happen to think Sam could really go far with this story." Magazine editor, John McDougan, ugh, he has a crush on me, which wouldn't be so bad, if he wasn't a fink.

"But she doesn't even have parents!" Alicia whined. Oh, that was a low blow. "Well you don't have a brain, but you don't hear me complaining." I muttered. Alicia turned and glared at me, stalking over to my desk. "You stole my story."

"Get over it."

"I was voted the "Most Popular" in school last year," See? What'd I tell ya? "And I won't let some… Goth steal _my_ thunder!"

"Hopefully, lightning will come with the thunder." I muttered as she stalked away. Unfortunately, Alicia heard, and turned right back around. "Oh my god! Two appearances, in one day? Wow! I must be _so_ lucky!" Alicia glared. "How are you even going to finish my article without actual parents to observe? And, since you're friendless, you can't turn to them for help."

I hated to admit it, but, she did have a good point. How was I going to finish? Well, only one thing to do now: I stood up and stared at Alicia, eye-to-eye and said, clearly, confidently and loudly, "I have parents. And it just so happens… I'm staying with them for spring break."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes, really."

"And they… like you?"

"Of course."

"Then you can finish your article and bring pictures of it, right? And I don't mean pictures of some random house in town." I paused. I don't even know where my parents are! "Deal." But apparently, I don't care.

The minute I got home, I ran upstairs. Dropping my school stuff on the floor, I went to my desk drawer, took a deep breath and pulled it open.

There lay the letters. I grabbed the most recent one and looked at the envelope, and smiled at what I found. 7591 Centennial Street, Amity Park, New York. I was going to see what I missed out on during the last sixteen years.

* * *

I ran down the stairs, taking them two at a time. Of course, having combat boots, I fell onto the living room floor as soon as I reached the bottom. "Sam, what have your aunt and I told you about running down the stairs?" Uncle Jacob said as he grabbed my arm and pulled me up. Okay, if I want them to allow me to go to New York, I'm going to need to approach the subject calmly, coolly and most importantly, don't demand.

"I'm going to New York."

…

Seriously. Do I even _listen_ to myself? Uncle Jacob raised an eyebrow. "Why?" I pulled an envelope out of my back pocket and showed it to him. "My parents are in New york."

"Oh, Sammy, you don't need to search--"

"I'm not. I'm going to complete my article. And aren't you and Aunt Clarissa the ones who have always told me; "be committed to your work" and "finish what you start" and "be creative. Stop at nothing"?"

"We didn't think that meant sending you to New York!"

"Who are we sending to New York?" Aunt Clarissa said as she left the kitchen and entered the living room. "Me." I said, confidently. "Oh, no, no, no. those who school, don't go to New York."

"School? Auntie, I'm practically on spring break! I mean, I only have one more day. And you don't have finals before spring break."

"Plane tickets cost…"

"I can pay for half. And I'll get the other half to pay you back."

"How?"

"I'll rob my parents." I shrugged. "She has her mind set on this, Clarissa." Uncle Jacob said. Aunt Clarissa sighed heavily.

* * *

"Now, do you have everything you need?" Uncle Jacob asked at the airport "My mp3 and my plane ticket, my suitcase, clothes, cell and digital camera. Yup. That's everything."

"Flight 104 to Amity Park, New York, now boarding." I smiled. Finally. "Well, that's my flight." Aunt Clarisse and Uncle Jacob promptly hugged me tightly. "Call us the second you arrive, okay?" I nodded anything to get to Amity Park sooner.

Nine hours, thirty minutes and… thirty-nine minutes later, I was in the airport _attempting_ to pull my bag off the baggage claim. "Stupid… airport… people. Stop piling _my_ stuff underneath everyone _else's_!" giving one last mighty tug, I ripped my suitcase out. (Thankfully, not _literally_ ripped.) Pausing, I dug around in my bag until I found my camera. Switching it to the camera part, I observed people for a few minutes, and then went on walking. "Okay, Amity Park airport." I moved the camera to a sign that boldly declared this _Amity Park Airport_. "HA. See, Alicia. I _did_ come to the actual place where my parents are." Turning back around, I noticed people stared at me for talking to myself. "What? I have a _camera_, people! I'm a not schizo! Haven't you people ever heard of _narration_?"

…

I scared the people away. Eh, whatever. Looking down at the camera, I realized it was still running. "Well, looks like I'll have some editing to do on this…" and I turned it off.

Two hours. Two… long… grueling… hours. "Of what?" You may be asking. Well, of blindly walking around Amity Park, trying, and failing to find 7591 Centennial Street!

…

And I know I've passed that "Fenton Works" place, like, twenty times already. "I _knew_ I should've brought a map at the airport. I said to myself, _'Sam, you're going to regret not buying a map of the town.'_ but did I listen to myself? _Nooo_. Me and my big head forced me to ignore myself!"

"Um, do you always talk to yourself?" looking up from my envelope with my parents' address on it, I saw a cute boy with black hair and blue eyes staring at me. _'Of course it would be a cute boy, wouldn't it?'_ I blushed. "Sometimes." The boy smiled. "You've passed by my house about… twenty times. I thought that maybe I'd come out and help you. So, do--"

"Yes!" I shoved the envelope with the address in his face. Hey, if someone wanted to help, I wasn't about to say, "No, I can handle it."

…

That would be stupid. "7591 Centennial Street? Wow. That's the ritzy neighborhood. Why you goin' there?" he handed me the envelope back. "I suppose you could say I have… unfinished business." I looked at the boy who was helping me. He didn't _seem_ like a perverted stalker… but then again, they never do. Well, I guess I'll deal with it as it comes along. I stopped walking, causing him to stop a few feet in front of me and turn around to look at me. Smiling, I stuck out my hand, and said, "I never introduced myself. Sam Manson, I'm from Montana." The boy grinned, and took my hand, "Danny Fenton, I'm from… here." Slowly, I smiled back at him, I could get used to this boy… and his cute smile.

* * *

I squealed. Loudly. Why? Well, because Danny found the ticklish spot on my side! "Daniel! I swear--" he poked my side again. "Bad Sam. You're not supposed to swear." Then he stopped, causing me to run into him. "Thank you for telling me you were stopping." Danny looked up at a house. "7591 Centennial Street, that's where you need to be, right?" I nodded. "Right." Well, thanks to Danny, here I stand. In front of my parents house. After nine hours of searching (… well, it sure _felt_ like nine hours!), I'm standing right in front of it.

Standing.

Staring.

…

It was a big house…

Did you know my parents were rich? Yeah, kinda weird. That would technically make me rich. "Well," Danny began. "I'd love to stay and… watch the house... mold… but I've gotta go."

That snapped me out of my trance. "What? Why?"

"Your parents kind of… well… hate me. Oh, and before I go, I wanna warn you, don't be disappointed if they aren't home." With that, Danny turned and started heading toward what I assumed what was his house.

'_Okay, deep breath. Inhale, exhale. Stand up straight. Think… confidence. Think… poise. Think… of not screwing this up. Okay, now, walk._

…

_Or just stand here and make the neighbors think you're insane. That works too.'_ I cleared my throat and forced my left foot forward. Then my right. I swear it's like being one all over again. "Are you lost?" A voice asked, scaring me half to death and almost giving me whiplash when I turned suddenly. I turned to see an old lady in a motor scooter. (Well… she could always run over my foot using her scooter!) "Um…" I could always just back out now. Forget this and go back to Montana.

Yup, I could just give Alicia victory. Not gonna happen. "No." I said, with a sudden confidence. "I'm looking for my parents. And I know for a fact that they live here, and--"

"Samantha? Uh… Sam?"

"Yeah. How did you--?"

"Oh, Jacob and Clarisse always send updated photos of you." They do? "They do?"

"Yes, your parents have often said that they feel like they know you personally." That comment kinda made me mad. "Feel like they… ugh. They would have actually known me if they hadn't – never mind. It's not important. Where are they? I've flown all the way from Montana to meet them." The old lady sighed. "Your parents are in England, dear. They won't be back until next week."

"Oh." Wasn't expecting that. I pulled out my phone. Might as well get some tickets so I can head home. "But you're welcome to stay."

… Wasn't expecting that, either. "Well, alright. I guess I could, I mean, I'm on vacation back home anyway." I grabbed my suitcase and shifted my bag on my shoulders. And looked at the old woman and we started walk… _heading_ toward the door. "So, what are you? To me?"

"Your grandmother."

"Ah." I nodded and opened the door as … my grandmother took the ramp.

Think the house looks big on the outside, look at it on the inside. "Wow." I said, breathlessly. "Yes, I suppose it is a bit… awe-inducing the first time you look at it. I suppose, you'll need to pick a room. Hm. There's a room that has nothing in it but a bed, a desk, dresser and maybe a few paintings. It's the first room on your right." I blinked. Did my grandmother just go into rooms and stare at it until it was burned in her brain? Y'know what? Never mind. Ain't gonna question it.

* * *

A few hours later, the butler (Who I've never seen before, by the way.) knocked on my door. I was in my _huge_ room, blasting my music when I heard a knock on my door. Do you know how… creepy (for the lack of a better word) it is to open your door, only to see a creepy old man behind it?

I swear that guy gave me my first heart attack.

"Miss Manson, there is a Mr. Fenton at the door for you." He said, calmly, ignoring the fact that I had just screamed in his face. "Fenton? I don't know--" Then a name came to mind, along with those blue eyes. Danny. "Oh! Danny!" I ran down the stairs and saw Danny, talking to some guy in a beret. "Danny." Said the boy (the one I didn't know) looked up and nodded at me, so Danny looked at me, blue eyes sparkling. "The only reason I'm in here is because your parents aren't home." He said, randomly. "Otherwise, we'd be outside. This is Tucker Foley. Tuck, this is Sam. She just moved here from Montana."

"I didn't move here. I'm only here because I have an article to finish." Danny waved off the correction. "Whatever. Tuck and I were about to go to the mall. You wanna come?"

* * *

"Okay, so help me understand," Tucker said, looking at me as we were walking to the mall. "You fly all the way from Montana just to find your parents who gave you up when you were a baby?"

"Yep." I said, simply.

"Why?"

"They're my parents. I have to know them at some point in my life. And I'll be going to college the year after next and building my own life after that. This was the only time I had free. Plus, I have an article to finish and a girl to prove wrong."

"What kinda article?"

"'_A Parent's Role in Teenagers' Lives'_. But how am I going to finish without even knowing my parents?" Danny nodded, then stopped suddenly and started at something in front of him.

"Danny?" Now, this was weird. Maybe Danny was the type of guy to have silent seizures. Danny cleared his throat, then came back to planet earth, then looked at me, then at… a girl sitting at a picnic table with a bunch of boys around her. "Is that your girlfriend?" Tucker snorted and that seem to knock Danny out of his girl-induced trance. "What? No! That's Paulina. She's the queen of Casper High. Don't get on her bad side."

Great. Another Alicia. I rolled my eyes. "Uh-huh. I'll be sure to keep that in mind." Translated: "Heh. Yeah, right. Like _that's_ gonna happen."

* * *

Later, when we were actually in the mall (And had managed to drag Danny away from that… Paulina girl), and at the food court, I had actually learned something about the boys.

They say a lot of things I could really care less about.

"I couldn't figure out what was wrong with my PDA, earlier…"

"Paulina smiled at me earlier…"

"It was acting really weird."

"I think maybe she's beginning to like me!"

"I decided I would link up to someone else's PDA to try and see what the problem was."

"I may make a move sometime this… year."

"Problem was… no one else had one. Or they just denied it."

"Or this… century… maybe."

"They just don't wanna admit it."

I swear I lost at least ten brain cells listening to this.

"Sam? Are you paying attention?" I glared at Danny and said a very sarcastic, "Yes."

"Good! I was just getting to the good part in my PDA story." Tucker interrupted. I stood. "That's… great. Well, I'd love to stay here and listen to you two ramble like old men in your 90's but I've got to go… anywhere else." In other words: get as far away from here as possible. Five minutes later, I heard two cries of, "Sam!" I looked back at them and raised an eyebrow. They looked… I dunno… freaked? I looked back forward and saw what must've been a ten-foot dragon.

…

A ten-foot dragon.

In a mall. And, of course, being me I could only think of one thing: _'How is the roof still intact?'_

Then, the most amazing thing happened. A boy - looked a little older than me - came flying out of the wall. I stood there, mesmerized, watching the two ghosts fight.

Unfortunately, I learned something that day: when two ghosts are fighting in a mall, you don't stand and stare. Not unless you want one to spot you, and attack you.

Imagine: a ten-foot dragon turning, swatting the other ghost away with its tail and flying at you. What would you do? Scream? Good idea. I vaguely heard Tucker's cry of, "Sam!" before the dragon grabbed me in its scaly hands. The dragon phased through the roof and outside. I stopped my screaming when I felt the tingling sensation of walking – floating – flying through something. "Weird." The dragon suddenly jolted forward, almost dropping me.

I looked down.

…

God, I shouldn't have looked down…

Another blast. Looking around, I saw the ghost boy I had seen for a second earlier. It seemed he was powering up a powerful blast from his hand when he noticed me. Quickly, the blast died down. He didn't want to hurt me. Okay. That guy was the good one. Noted. Now, then… I suddenly felt weightless.

Really. Nothing was holding me up. The dragon was gone. I looked and saw the ghost boy capping a thermos.

…

Y'know what? Not gonna ask. _'Hey, wait. I can't fly…'_ at that realization, I began to plummet to the earth. It appeared that my sudden scream knocked the ghost boy out of his trance and he dove down to grab me.

Gasping for breath, I grabbed his shirt; I put my face in his chest, trying to calm my irregular heart rate. "Um… we're on the ground." Slowly – very slowly – I looked up from the ghost boy's chest and up into his face.

Huh, he looked a lot like... nah. It couldn't be.

Right? I smiled at him. "Thank you." A few seconds later, I noticed people snapping pictures as the ghost boy smiled back at me. Slowly, he put me down back onto my feet. We smiled once more at each other and then the ghost boy jumped up, his tail turned into smoke – whoa, one sentence I never thought I'd say... – and he flew away.

"Sam!" turning, I saw Tucker running toward me. "My God, Sam. You haven't even been here a day, and already you're attacked by a ghost. You okay?" I looked up in the way the ghost boy had gone. It was then that I noticed Danny wasn't with Tucker. "Where's Danny?"

"Uh... he... ran. From the ghosts."

"Ah. Well, that makes sense. I suppose." The ghost boy was not in anyway related to Danny. Nuh-uh, no way and no how.

* * *

Because yesterday was spent with… oddly enough, ghosts, and explaining that the ghost who had saved me was Danny Phantom. (Most people feared him. I couldn't see why, though. But, oh well. People will be clueless idiots.) Sighing, I turned on my camera and turned it to video. "This is my room in Amity Park." I said to my imaginary viewers. "And as you can see, _Alicia_, it really does exist. So there. Little skank…"

"You may wanna edit that out." A male voice said. Quickly, I turned the camera off and looked up and saw Danny. "Danny, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I, uh… got you something." He took his hands from behind his back and presented a bag to me. "It's kinda like a… 'Welcome' gift." I looked at him for a minute, then smiled and took the bag, then sat on the bed.

"Come here, Danny. Sit down." I said, patting the seat next to me (it's a habit I'd picked up from Aunt Clarisse, what can I say?). Danny gave me a weird look, but sat down next to me, anyway. I took the tissue paper out of the bag, carelessly tossing the paper on the floor. Then I pulled the gift out of the bag. A black bag that would hold a bunch of my junk. "It's for incase you want to buy souvenirs, or carry stuff or… something… I know girls like to carry things with them in their purses… not that I'm saying you carry a purse. 'Cause, if you don't then… it's just a bag." I looked at him. Other than my birthday and Christmas, I didn't get many presents. Other than the gifts John McDougan gave me and he gave me the worst gifts.

Made of animal leather.

He thought it would make me like him, since I loved animals and all; it made me hate him. I smiled and looked at Danny. "It's perfect, Danny, thank you." Then I did something out of character: I hugged him, and then released him; then I grabbed my camera and dropped it in there.

"There. See? It's being put to good use." I then saw Danny looking at my full suitcase. He laughed from my bed. "You never unpack anything do you?" I plopped down onto my backside, sitting in front of the suitcase. I looked up at Danny, and then dragged my suitcase beside the bed. "I don't know if my parents will like me yet," I explained. "Or if I'll like them. And if they don't, or I don't, I wanna be prepared to make a clean escape. I don't wanna leave anything behind." Danny nodded. "Makes sense, I guess."

I looked at Danny, who was looking at a picture on the wall next to the bed. Slowly, I got my camera out and turned it to the picture… picture. Then I snapped a picture of Danny who looked like he had a thoughtful look on his face. "You're photogenic."

"So I've been told." I smiled and examined the picture.

* * *

About half a week later, Danny and Tucker insisted on taking me to the "ultimate Casper High hangout." A local fast food restaurant called, "Nasty Burger"

…

Nasty Burger. Doesn't that name just make ya wanna drop what you're doing and get a nasty burger? "It's an awesome place, Sam. You'll love it. They make the best hamburgers." Tucker said. "I'm a vegetarian."

"I'll change that."

"Doubt it."

"Hey, guys…" Danny said, suddenly. Tucker and I both stopped and looked at him. He was staring into the sky. I looked in the direction that he was looking in and saw... nothing. "What are you staring at?" Tucker asked, well at least he didn't know what Danny was staring at, either. "I gotta go... Tuck, you in?" Behind his glasses, Tucker's green eyes widened. "Yeah. I'm in." Then he turned to me. "Sorry, Sam. This is a guy thing." Both turned and ran as I raised my eyebrow.

Well... that was... odd. I paused and rummaged through the bag that Danny had given me. I pulled out my camera. _'Do they honestly think I'm not going to follow?'_ grinning, I ran in the direction Danny and Tucker had gone through.

"No one followed, right?"

"Dude, you worry too much."

"I just want to know if my secret's safe." I slowed, turned on my camera to the camera part and started filming.

Then I saw something that... shocked me, for lack of a better word.

"I'm going ghost!" Than Danny Fenton turned into Danny Phantom.

He turned into... Danny Phantom.

And I got it on tape! Shakily, I turned the camera off. "Oh...my...GOD!" Quickly, the boys looked at me. "Crap. Sam, I told you this was a guy thing!"

"How is _this_...?" I turned and pointed at Danny "And you're..." I swallowed a lump in my throat. I had to get out of there. "I have to go." I took a step backwards. "Sam, listen, I can explain." He reached out toward me. "No! Don't—don't touch me!"

"Sam, can you just--" I didn't hear what Danny said next. Not because I ran away, but because I had fainted.

* * *

An hour later, after I had regained consciousness, I found that I was in Danny's family's lab, trying to absorb what he and Tucker were telling me. "And that dragon attacked you was, a ghost. When she gets mad, the necklace she has on causes her to turn into a dragon. The necklace has to be off for her to turn back to normal." Danny walked to something that looked like a big hole in the wall. "This is where the ghosts come out. The Fenton Portal."

I gulped nervously. "Okay, okay, I guess I can understand the… portal and ghost zone, you've proven that. And the ghost dragon, after all, I saw that. But you honestly expect me to believe that you basically got… electrocuted… with… I'm sorry, what was it again?"

"Ectoplasm." Tucker said.

"Right. Thank you. And you didn't die? Or, you half-way died… I mean, I think about it, it's a bit… farfetched Danny, seriously."

Danny laughed nervously. "Yeah, I know but it's true. Do I need to transform again?"

"No! No, don't… don't bother, it's alright." The first time he did it in front of me, nearly gave me my very first heart attack. Danny obviously saw the look of panic on my face because he sighed heavily. "Look, I know this is a big shock for you. I mean, you just got here a few days ago, and then, when you get to know some people around here, surprise! One of 'em shocks you with a, "I'm half-ghost" story. I know this is a big pill to swallow. And I just thought, I dunno. Maybe… you could handle it. But, I guess not." He bowed his head, his black hair going in his face. I looked at him. Here was this, really sweet, (really cute) guy who openly confesses his deepest secret to me and what do I do in return? I look at him like he's a freak of nature. Which, in today's society he is.

I _say_ I'm unique.

Danny actually _is_ unique. In more ways than one. And Uncle Jacob and Aunt Clarisse _did_ teach me to be accepting of others, no matter how much they were different from us. I sighed heavily and stood up to face Danny. "I wont lie and say I'm not in shock about this, but it does explain a lot." I looked at the camera in my hand. "I should probably find someway to erase this, shouldn't I?"

Danny looked up, hair still in his face. "So… you're not going to tell everyone and show the tape?"

"I could. I very easily could. OR! I could blackmail you, make you bow to me and be my slave." I smirked. "Way to give a girl second thoughts, Danny." At the panicked look on his face, I smiled. "Relax, Danny. I'm not going to tell anyone. Whatever secrets you have are safe with me."

Okay, so it was now later that same day and we were, yet again, going to the Nasty Burger. "Guys… wait." Danny said. Tucker and I stopped. "Ghosts?" Tucker suggested. "No…" he looked in the direction of a limo that had passed by behind him, then he turned and looked at us. "That was the Manson limo." The boys shifted their gaze to me, who just stood there, watching the limo disappearing.

Then, I took off running after it; which took the boys by surprise. "Hey, Sam! Wait up!" I heard Tucker yell. But I wasn't about to stop, this was a complete miracle. They weren't supposed to be home until the weekend! I didn't stop until I got to the front porch, and then, I did what every person does when they're about to meet their parents after sixteen years.

I stood there.

Just stood there.

Eventually, Danny and Tucker came running up. Both out of breath. "Sam? You gonna go in?" Danny asked, after catching his breath.

Was I? Meeting them was my whole reason for coming here. I inhaled deeply, then exhaled, then pushed the door open… and found my parents sitting at the kitchen table. "Go on, Sam." Tucker whispered, nudging me forward slightly. "Yeah, you can do it." Danny whispered, also nudging me forward. I took a deep breath, it was now or never.

My grandmother told my parents that I was their daughter and they were my parents. After I got over the general shock of seeing my parents, I noticed one thing: they were bright. Like, _bright_, bright. And for me, being Goth, I should've immediately known things would've gone downhill from there. Too bad I'm stubborn.

Actually, it went well.

For the first five minutes while we were all seated around the dining room table (Danny was right, my parents really didn't like him. They kept giving him disgusted looks like, "How could _our_ daughter be friends with _that_?), in an awkward silence. Then they said, "Samantha,"

"My name is Sam."

I was ignored. "Have you ever considered maybe… making your clothes style a little brighter?" I gave them both blank looks and said a very bland, "No."

They responded with a soft, "Oh." My father silenced, but my mother continued. "But, Samantha,"

"Sam."

"You would be very beautiful in bright colors."

"I don't see why you should have any say in my clothes." And that's when it started going downhill. "We are your parents."

"Yeah, my parents who left me with my aunt and uncle and, oh, occasionally, every now and then when you felt like writing, I got letters. Yeah, some parents." They scowled at me. "Samantha, we weren't ready for a child, and truth be told, we couldn't really afford it." My dad said. I glared at him.

"Weren't ready for a kid my butt. I saw the letter you wrote to Aunt Clarisse. You two got drunk on a ship somewhere, had sex, and she," I pushed my chair back, stood up and pointed at my mother. "Got pregnant. You didn't believe in abortion, so you decided to go ahead have me, my guess is you were thinking, "Oh, goody! A Barbie doll! I can't wait to dress her all pretty and in poofy, pink dresses!" And then I came. And after a day, you realized I wasn't Barbie. I was a living, breathing human being. And despite having all this," I motioned to every thing in the room. "You say you couldn't afford it? Couldn't afford _me_?" I took a deep breath and said, "Biggest load of bull I have _ever_ heard." I sighed heavily. "Y'know what? Forget it. Coming here was a mistake. I'm leaving here as soon as I can find a plane to take me back to Montana." I grabbed the bag Danny gave me, and swung it over my shoulder, and then I stormed out. I came back a minute later to stick my head back in the doorway and glare at Danny and Tucker, who were sitting there in shock. "Are you two coming or not?"

They looked at each other, then pushed their chairs back, stood up, and followed me out the door.

* * *

"Sam, don't you think you overreacted? Just a little bit?"

"I don't think she did. I mean, can you imagine not seeing your parents for sixteen years, then suddenly, seeing them? I think her anger, although slightly violent, was completely and totally natural."

"Okay, that's it. I think it's time Jazz moved out of your house and into a college dorm. She's starting to corrupt you." Tucker stopped walking, grabbed Danny's shoulders and began shaking him. "Come back from the dark side!"

I was furious. No, I was beyond furious. I was…_seething_, (For lack of a better word) running as fast down the sidewalk. The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, the faster I ran. I didn't know where I was going, but then again, I didn't really care. As long as I got as far away from _that house_ as possible, I was happy.

Who _cares_ that Danny and Tucker were huffing and puffing to catch up to me? Okay, so I cared a _little_. But I wasn't about to stop; at least not yet. "Sam," Danny said as he and Tucker jogged on either side of me. "Look, I know you're… mad, but could you please do us a favor and stop?"

"No. I need to get as far away from that house as possible."

"Well, can you at least slow down to a walk?" Tucker asked out of breath. I rolled my eyes, but did as requested slowed to walk, but stopped when I got to the park. I thought that this was far enough. (Or as far as I could get with the two lazy boys following me, complaining every step on the way.) I, then, turned and looked at Danny and Tucker. Both of them were gasping for air. "You, need to get out more." I said, looking at Tucker. "And I would think that you'd be in better shape." I said, looking at Danny. He stuck out his tongue at me. Yeah. _That_ was _so_ mature.

"Y'know what you need, Sam? A night on the town." Tucker said, ignoring me. "A night on the town. What, are you guys going to take me to a night club where I can get drunk and have a one-night-stand? Oh, yeah. Sounds like _loads_ of fun." I said, sarcastically. Tucker glared at me. "No, I mean a day of fun." He paused. "And Danny will provide it."

"He will?"

"I will?"

"Yes, you will. Danny will take you out."

"What?" Danny and I said in unison. "I hope by _'taking me out'_ you mean he's going to kill me. Because I don't date." I crossed my arms the same way I did when I wasn't about to change my mind. "Then don't think of it as a date. Think of it as… two friends hanging out." Tucker grabbed me and then Danny and pushed us together. "Get to know each other; and if you wanna fall in love, I won't stand in your way." I shifted my gaze from Tucker to Danny only to see him looking at me.

With those bright, cute baby blue eyes…

I groaned, rolled my eyes and changed my mind. "I'll do it if Danny does it."

"Oh, sure; put pressure on _me_ to decide." He looked at me and glared playfully, and then he smiled. "Alright. I'm in. It could be fun." Tucker smiled. "Great. Oh, and a little note: don't fight the sparks that fly, later!" With that, he ran away, leaving Danny and I alone. "What did he mean by, _'don't fight the sparks that fly'_?" Danny asked as we began to walk. "We shouldn't be afraid to fall in love." I clarified. "But we're just friends!" Danny said, his blue eyes widening. "Never mind the fact that we just met a half week ago." I added. There was silence and then,

"This isn't a date."

"I know it's not a date."

"Good. I was just making sure that you knew that I knew that it wasn't a date."

"Good. Because it's not. Just two people who happen to be of opposite genders hanging out." Pause. "Right?"

"Right."

More silence. "Well, might as well make the most of it. Wanna hang out at the mall or something? At least there we'll have something to do besides standing in awkward silence." I looked at Danny and said, "Mall's across town." Danny did a quick scan of the surroundings around him, and then Danny Phantom appeared.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that." I watched as Danny hovered in the air slightly. Then he did something that shocked me: he held out his hand. "Wanna know what it's like to fly without the plane?" I gulped, looked at his hand, then into his (now) green eyes. Cautiously, I put my hand in his and watched as his large hand covered my small one. Slowly, Danny rose into the air, pulling me up with him. "You wouldn't drop me... right?" I had to be sure that his hand wasn't going to, like, phase out suddenly, sending me to my death.

Danny looked down at me and grinned reassuringly. "Don't worry. Lots of people have flown Air Phantom and not one of them has been dropped." That helped. A lot.

Even though I was told by Uncle Jacob that when you're high in the sky, you _never_ look down at the ground, I looked down. Oh, _God_, I looked down! Okay, I couldn't let Danny know I was panicking. I most likely wouldn't live it down if I did. So I turned my attention elsewhere. I looked up.

And at Danny.

Y'know, he wasn't bad looking, granted, he wasn't a Goth, which is what I'm generally attracted to, but still. He was cute.

Yup, I was staring at Danny; unfortunately, Danny picked the wrong time to look down because it meant that I was caught staring at him. And, cue the weird look.

"What?"

"What, what?"

"You're staring at me."

"Am not."

"Are too. You're still doing it."

"So? You don't control my eyes." _I_ don't even control my eyes…

Danny opened his mouth like he was about to say something, but then looked forward, came to an abrupt stop. If I hadn't been holding onto him, I would've continued forward. When I looked up, (this time with reason) to glare at him, (see! Reason!) I saw that he had a blush on his face. "Heh. We're at the mall."

I rolled my eyes. I swear, if he wasn't so cute…

* * *

"You'd look good in this." I said, holding up a black shirt to Danny. He just looked at me oddly and said, "No."

"Why not? I'm telling you, this is your color. It brings out your eyes."

"It's not my color. Black isn't my color." I looked at him and lowered the shirt slightly. "Your hair is black…"

"That doesn't count! I didn't get to choose my hair color. But I'm choosing not to wear that shirt." He grabbed it from me and put it back on the rack. "Ugh. Fine. Far be it for me to try to get you to try new things. What about those jeans?" I pointed to a pair of jeans with chains all over and useless pockets. "No. would you stop trying to Goth me?"

"I'm not trying to Goth you. I'm just saying, black is your color. You look good in it." Good… hot… cute…

Danny looked ready to protest when his stomach let out a loud growl. I smirked at him. "My mind reading senses tell me you're hungry." Danny grinned. "Your mind reading sense would be right. I haven't ate anything for, like, an hour." I groaned and began walking out of the store. I turned and went in the direction of the food court when I heard Danny yell after me. "Sam! Do you even know where you're going?" I paused, then yelled back,

"Nope!"

After we ate, Danny grabbed my hand and began pulling me throughout the mall. "Come on! You dragged me to the store you wanted to go to, so now _I'm_ dragging _you_ to the store I wanna go to."

Oh, no. who knows what awful, boring, dull boy things he's gonna put me through? He stopped.

In front of… a toy store. I blinked. "You have _got_ to be kidding me."

"What? I like this store."

"You have _got_ to be kidding me." Danny grinned at me. "C'mon, Sammy. Haven't you ever wanted to be in touch with your inner child?" No. "No." Danny didn't stop smiling at this, but he did let go of me to run inside the store. I sighed, did a quick scan around the area, before running in after Danny. Hopefully, no one saw me go in here.

I cautiously moved around all the toys and children. "Danny?" I called out. No answer. "Danny?" Still no answer. Ugh. Great. I lost Danny in a _toy store_. And he's not even six!

I was about to give up after ten minutes of searching when I felt something wet hit my back. I stiffened. "You did _not_ just shoot me with a water gun."

I heard laughter

Danny's laughter.

Okay, it's on now.

Three hours. We played in that toy store for three hours. And the scary part? I actually had fun. Me, Sam Manson: Goth girl, vegetarian, had fun in a toy store. Yeah, I can't believe it, either. But it happened. I had fun. And it was all Danny's fault. We were now walking down the sidewalk to my parents' house. We walked onto the porch, and then stood there in awkward silence.

"So…"

"So…"

Awkward silence…

"This was fun." I blurted out. Danny looked at me, happiness shone in his baby blue eyes. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. Never thought I could have fun in a toy store, of all places. Even though I _am_ still damp." I gave him a pointed look and he blushed. "Hey, I just filled the balloons. _You're_ the one who just happened to be in the right place at the right time." He smirked. I rolled my eyes upward, and then looked at him again. "Well… I should go in. I have no doubt that they're waiting for me. They've had plenty of time to think of a few million lectures for their long-lost daughter."

"And what'll you do when they're lecturing you?"

"Ignore them and go up to my room, of course."

"I should get going. It's almost 9:30 and I'm lookin' forward to not being late for curfew." He paused. "Again." He turned to leave. I had a sudden thought but it seemed like the right to do. I gathered my courage, then grabbed Danny's arm before he could walk down the porch steps. "Wait." Danny looked at me as I moved closer to him. Then, because of an adrenaline rush, (or maybe just plain stupidity, who knows?) I reached up, and kissed him. He returned it for a few minutes, before I broke it off and smiled at him.

Danny just looked confused. "What was that for?"

"I was under the impression that's how most dates are ended." Not that I'd actually know. I've never been on a date. "But I thought we agreed that this wasn't --"

"Danny, I think we both know this was a date." Pausing, I grabbed a pen from my bag and I grabbed Danny's arm and wrote on his hand. "What's this?"

"My cell number." I gave him a peck on the cheek. "Good night, ghost boy." I went to the door, opened it, and slipped inside. I smiled at Danny one more time, and then closed the door.

That's when the full weight of what I had just did came down on me.

'_I ca _not believe_ I just did that.'_

* * *

After I had finished kissing guys I just met a half a week ago, (which I still cannot believe I did) I ignored "my parents'" lectures' and went to my room. Or, rather, the room I was staying in. Then, I sat at the desk, turned on my laptop and read over my article.

Ick.

Okay, I hate to admit it, but Alicia was right. For once. A journalist, I am not. You know what? Screw it. I am not one to care what other people think and I'm not about to start now. I'll just rewrite the article to how I've been feeling. It will be my release.

_Hello, fellow students of my "beloved" high school…_

About an hour and a half later, after I had decided that I wrote enough for the article for one day, Tucker had called my phone, (he called it from Danny's phone, I'm guessing) and told me to meet him and Danny at the mall. I found out that Danny was with him because he had offered to fly me over there. I turned him down. I wasn't ready to be alone with him just yet. So I walked. It was a long walk, but I'm not a lazy person, (which I take pride) and I was the only person in my school who past the President's Fitness Test. I looked up and saw a sign that said, "AMITY PARK MALL."

Hey! I found it! Albeit, subconsciously.

Walking in the mall: Leaves a lot of time to think.

And for me, that is never good. The biggest thing on my mind: the kiss.

Why, why, why, oh _why_, did I kiss him? I don't even know if he feels that way about me! Heck, _I_ don't even know if I feel that way about _him_! I just met the boy! Okay, Sam, stop stressing, after all, he _did_ kiss back… and…If worse comes to worse… flee. Flee as fast as it is possible to flee. Flee to Montana. Flee to Canada. Flee to Idaho. Just flee! I sighed heavily as I entered the Amity Mall. Tucker had said to meet him and Danny at the food court. I can't even _find_ the stupid food court. After a few minutes, I found a mall map. "Food court -- straight ahead." I looked up and saw a large sign proclaiming, _"Food Court." _Ugh. Someone up there hates me. I quickly found Danny and Tucker sitting at a booth. Tucker looked up first, and smiled at me. Danny looked up, and saw me. His eyes sparkled, and then he scooted over, offering me his seat.

Well… I think things are going to change.

Only here for a few days and I'm _already_ changing things.

* * *

Later on, I found out something else about Danny. he has an older sister. And not a sister who thinks her little brother is the most annoying thing on the planet and life was better before he was born.

His sister is… nice… if not a bit… possessive of her younger brother I found this out after the boys had finished eating and they had decided to train Danny. (Is it me, or does that kinda sound… wrong?) I went along, of course. However, I wasn't exactly expecting what happened when Danny opened the front door.

"Danny!"

"Oof!"

Tucker and I looked at each other, then back through the open doorway Danny was practically pushed back through. A redheaded girl had tackled Danny.

"It's always been Danny's dream to get tackled by a girl. But, I think the dream may be… thrown out, now…" Tucker said.

"Danny! What happened to you? Where were you? Are you hurt?"

"Nothing. Mall. No. Get off me!" The girl got off her brother, turned and glared at me. "Who are you?"

'_What a kind, sweet girl.' _I glared back. "Sam."

"You friends with my brother?"

"No, I'm here because I'm secretly stalking him." The girl looked like she was about to comment, when Danny stopped her. "Lay off, Jazz." He said, pushing himself up. "Sam isn't doing anything wrong. She's a friend."

Jazz looked at me, then at Danny, then back at me. Then, she smiled and turned her attention back to her brother. "Danny! I know Mom and Dad will be delighted that you finally got a _girlfriend_!"

Tucker burst out laughing.

"_What_!" Danny and I yelled out in unison. Jazz shrugged. "Well, she's a girl and you said she's a friend. So she's your girl friend." Danny and I both let out huge sighs of relief. _'Oh, thank god.'_ Unfortunately, this didn't stop Tucker from laughing. Not even turning around to look at him, I planted a firm kick to his shin. "OW!"

"Okay, if we're finished here, can we get this whole… training thing over with?"

Jazz grabbed me and began shaking me. "It doesn't mean what you think it means! Danny is perfectly normal!"

"At least one of you is…"

"Its okay, Jazz. She knows my secret." Danny said, standing beside his sister. Jazz stopped shaking me, stopped shaking and looked at her brother. "She does?"

"Yep."

"Oh. Well, in that case, I'll be in my room." And with that, she calmly walked in the house and to her room.

People in this city are so _weird_.

* * *

"Sam's gonna be a Playboy bunny!" Is what Tucker yelled during Danny's training session. Once again, there were two cries of, "_What_!" before Danny crashed into a training robot. Tucker burst out laughing, once more. "You must _like_ getting kicked." I glared at Tucker before going out into the "training field" (as Danny called it. in reality, it was his basement/parents' lab.) and offered Danny my hand to help him up.

He took it, and I pulled him up. His hand still held mine, and it felt like a shock went through my body, so I jumped.

Apparently, Danny felt it too because he also jumped. But we didn't let go and we just stared at each other. For a moment, my mind went back to last night. The playing in the toy store, the deciding the whole thing was a date, the kiss. Our trance was broken by Tucker loudly proclaiming, "Lovebirds!" More laughter. I pulled my hand from Danny's and glared at Tucker. "If I didn't know any better, I'd mistake you for a hyena."

Tucker's laughing fits wound down, but the grin still on his face. "So, are you two going to tell me what happened last night?" Danny and I looked at each other, then at Tucker.

"I wasn't planning on it."

"Me, either."

"What? C'mon, guys!" I watched as Danny returned to his human form, and began to head back up the stairs. Tucker following. "C'mon, you guys! You can't leave me in suspense like this! It's not fair! I set you up!"

Yup, I was feeling teenage-like feelings and I had friends. Something I didn't have in Montana.

It's too bad I have to leave all this in a week.

…

Oh, my god.

I have to leave all this in a week!

Okay, so it was now thirty minutes later. We had finished Danny's training and got his parents lab back to the way it was. And guess what! All through those thirty minutes, Tucker asked, "When will you guys tell me what happened last night!"

…

The question should be, "When will you guys finally hit me over the head with a shovel to shut me up!" Actually, I was about to search Danny's backyard for a shovel, but for some reason he stopped me…

Fun ruiner… okay, anyway… I was following Danny and Tucker into the kitchen when we saw that his sister was there. Immediately, she jumped up and began examining her brother for any bruises. I watched while Tucker made a beeline straight for the fridge. "Is she always this… uh…?"

"Annoying?" Danny asked. "Uh… I was gonna say 'overly-worried' but, that works too." Jazz glared at me as I walked past the two Fenton siblings. "Danny gets a lot of scars. I just check to make sure he didn't do something stupid and get any more." Danny glared at his sister. "Gee… thanks. I can just feel the sibling love in the room."

"Aw, Danny, you know I love you. You're my wittle brudder." Jazz cooed. Then she kissed Danny on the forehead and he tore away from her in disgust. "Ew! Jazz!"

* * *

The next morning, I was in my bedroom (or the room I've been given, rather) and I was in my nightgown on the computer, working on my article. Okay, note I said "In my _nightgown_"

Nightgown.

But did that stop them when they burst into my room with a _video camera_?

_No_.

"Smile for the camera, Sam!" Tucker said as he kicked my door open. Being the girl I am, and of course, not expecting them to come and kick down my door, I did what any normal girl would do.

Screamed.

After my heart attack was over, I dove from my desk to the safety of under the covers on my bed. "Get _out_ of here, you perverts!"

"I found a camera!" Tucker said, happily. I wrapped the covers around myself. "Fascinating. Get out!" I grabbed a pillow and threw it at them. Danny just went intangible and it went through him. Tucker was not so lucky. It hit his camera.

"Ow! Is that any way to treat the guys who are helping you with your article?"

"I already have my own camera for that, thank you. Now get _out_!" Danny turned tangible and sat next to me on the bed. "Sammy, you don't really want us to leave do you?" he did puppy dog eyes.

I hated puppy dog eyes. I especially hated _his_. So darn cute… but nevertheless… "No, Danny, of _course_ not. In fact, my screams of rage and frustration at you guys for filming me in my nightgown are really ways for me to hide the fact that in a few seconds you will be _full_ ghost and camera boy will be flying out of a tenth-story window." Tucker lowered the camera slightly. "You want us outta here, Don'tcha?"

Pause.

I threw two more pillows at them. "_I'm not dressed yet, you perverts_!"

"Can we come back when you are dressed?"

Oh, yes. Danny is definitely about to become full ghost.

Fifteen minutes later, I was dressed and walked into the living room where both boys were talking silently. "Okay," I said, making the boys look at me. "Now that you guys have both given me heart attacks and the immense dislike for cameras…" Cue the glare. "What now?" Tucker leapt up, turned the camera on and shoved the camera in my face. "You're the star of our new movie!"

"Oh, wow! I'm shaking in anticipation! And, by "_anticipation_", I mean, _"If you don't get that camera out of my face in the next five seconds, you'll be eating it"_." He quickly got it out of my face. "Yeah, that's what I thought." I sat down on the couch next to Danny. This gave Tucker an idea. "OR! It could be a romance!" Danny and I blushed. "C'mon, kissy-kissy for the camera."

"Going to kill you."

"Make it a good one."

"Slowly and painfully."

"C'mon Danny. Kiss her."

"_Run_."

* * *

Think _that_ was bad? That was only the _beginning_ of the camera's raid. Tucker liked the idea of a romance movie between Danny and I. Actually, I wasn't complaining. Gave me a reason to be near Danny. However, I began to hate it again as soon as we were interrupted while we were… having a private discussion.

"Sam? Can we… talk?"

I was lying on my bed reading when he cautiously entered my room. "Depends. Where's Tucker at?"

"Downstairs. In your home theater." I put my book down. "In that case, yes. What's up?" Danny sat down on my bed. "Um… about… our…um, date. The other night. We need to talk about that."

"Oh. Um, okay. What about it?"

"Actually, it's more like about what happened _after_ the date. On your porch?"

The _kiss_. I swallowed hard. "Um… okay. What about… what happened on my porch?" Slowly, Danny looked up and into my eyes, "Well, I don't like to lie, so I probably shouldn't start now. Okay, the truth is that I…"

And, just because fate _hates_ me, cute the interruption. "There you two are!" Tucker with his camera. He pointed it at us. "How's everything goin'? Been making out?"

It was official.

I hated that camera. And, more importantly, Tucker is going to die. "We were just talking, Tuck. We weren't making out."

Unfortunately. But, to my surprise, Danny turned back to me and said (as if Tucker wasn't there,) "Now, as I was saying, about what happened. I…" A blue mist escaped Danny's mouth.

A blue mist…

Escaped his mouth…

Am I the only one who sees something wrong? Danny must've seen the odd look I was giving him because he said, "Ghost sense. A ghost is near."

"Near? In the _house_?"

"In it… near it… same thing really." Tucker said turning off the camera as Danny changed into his ghost half.

"Shouldn't we… help him?"

"Nah, Dan can handle it. We should… hm. Do you have anything to do here?" Slowly I turned my head toward Tucker and glared. "_What?_" I rolled my eyes at him and went to the window. I saw the vague figure of Danny Phantom flying away, probably chasing after a ghost. I sighed.

"You have a crush on Danny!"

_What? _"_What_?"

"It's obvious now. You've gotta crush on Danny!"

"I do not!"

"I can't wait to tell him."

"You'll tell him nothing." Tucker smirked. "So you _do_ like him!"

"No, I—but I...am not speaking to you." I saw Tucker smirk before I turned and looked back out the window. "Well, I think I'll leave you to fantasying. My mom wants me home by four." I looked down at my watch. 3:30. "Alright, then."

"Tell Dan I left."

"I think he'll notice when it's quiet around here." With a quick farewell, Tucker was gone. Once he left, I sat on the window seat, and looked out. There was nothing out there, and it was boring, but I wanted to see if Danny came back.

When. When Danny came back. Heh. Messed up. He's coming back. Of course he is. He couldn't possibly… be killed… by a ghost.

Oh, god, I liked life better when I didn't know he was half ghost!

"Samantha?" My mother. I turned away from the window at the sound of knocking on the door. "It's open." Back toward the window, watching, waiting. "Hello, dear." She sat across from me on the window seat. "Hi."

"Listen, I know you, your father and I didn't get off on a very good foot…"

_'Or any foot.' _

"But we are happy you're here."

"I'm only here because I have an article to finish for my school's magazine. I'll be gone in a week." My mother raised an eyebrow. "What's the article about?"

"Parents' roles in their teenager's life."

"Oh. I guess I'm not getting a lot of points, huh?"

"Sure, you're getting tons of points. None of them good."

"Oh, I see. Well, if you want help with your article… I'll be downstairs." I nodded, my eyes not leaving the window; not stopping my scan for Danny.

"Well, that was slightly depressing." I let out a yelp of surprise and whipped around, coming face to face with Danny… Phantom. He was so close to me that I could feel his body heat.

Or, rather, lack there of.

"Wow, your eyes are… really purple." I'm not entirely sure why, but I blushed. "Um... thank you. Your eyes are..." Um... "Really bright." Danny blinked. "Oh! Right!" And in a flash of bright blue light, Danny Fenton appeared in front of me.

"I may be ruining everything by asking this, but... are you as nervous as I am about this?" I asked tentatively. Danny let out a sigh of relief. "Yeah. I just didn't want to be the one to say it."

"Heh. Alright, then," I paused and looked around. "One second. Don't move." I went to the door and locked it; then I went toward the door that leads into the bathroom and locked that; then I turned off my laptop. Then, I went back to Danny. "Alright, since I've cut off all communication to the outside world...think you could continue telling me whatever it was you were going to tell me before Tucker and his stupid camera interrupted?"

Danny blushed. "Well, over the last week, I realized that you aren't like any of the girls around her. You're... unique."

"Unique good or unique bad?"

"Unique good. Very good." He put his face closer to mine. "And I kind of..."

_Ring! Ring! Ring! _

I am thinking a _lot_ of things right now.

None exactly child appropriate. "I can't believe I forgot to turn my cell phone off." I sighed in annoyance and went to answer it. But Danny grabbed my arm. "Let it ring." Danny said, wrapping his arm around me and resting his forehead against mine. "Sam... you know you're my best friend, right?"

"I am? Since when?" I winced. _'Wow. Did that sound as mean as I think it did?'_ Danny smiled. "I'm honestly not sure. But you are." He paused self-consciously. "That's okay, right?" I grinned, nodded, and gave him a slight peck on his mouth. "Yeah, it's alright. You're mine, too. At least until I go back home." Danny pulled away slightly. "What, so we're not going to be friends if you go back home?"

"When. And I don't... well, it will be hard."

"True. I mean, I could be replaced by on of your Montana friends." I froze. "I...don't have any friends in Montana."

"Really? None at all?"

"Absolutely none."

"Wow. Well, then…" He bent down and kissed me.

A few minutes later, he pulled away from me. "What… what was _that_ for?" Needless to say, I was slightly breathless. Danny shrugged. "I don't know. It just felt right." I blushed and tucked a loose strand of hair behind my ear. "Well, we shouldn't fight what feels right, now should we?"

* * *

Monday; it was Monday. I have officially six days left and counting until I have to leave Amity Park; and I was spending it with my friends at Danny's house, working on my article and videotaping Danny and Tucker. "And here we have fourteen year old Daniel Fenton. Currently wasting the last Monday of his spring break working on a… what is it again?"

"English project."

"English project. Why he is doing school work during break time I will never know." Danny looked up at me and glared. "Y'know, you're working on a journalism project!" I whipped the camera around and saw Tucker working on math homework. "And here we have Tucker Foley. Who will one day make some guy a very nice wife." Tucker looked up at me and glared. "Work on your article, Manson." Tucker glared.

"Six days left here." And I am not looking forward to leaving.

* * *

Tuesday; five days left and my parents wanted to have a fun little chat with me. "Samantha, your mother and I have been talking and we have decided to tell you why we gave you up." My father said. I blinked. "I thought it was because you "couldn't afford to have kids"."

"Well, actually we… didn't _want_ kids." My mother said. I froze.

Two hours later, I was running to… anywhere while dialing Danny's number on my cell phone. "Hello?" his voice said a few rings later. "Danny, I need you. Like, now. Where can you meet me?"

"Um, I could meet you…in the park. In fifteen minutes."

"Make it five. I can't wait fifteen minutes."

"Deal. See ya in five."

Five minutes later, I saw Danny Phantom floating down to the ground. Before he even made contact with the ground, I launched myself into his arms, sobbing. "Sam, what--"

"They don't want me. They don't want me here. They said, they got rid of me so they…" I choked down a sob. "So they wouldn't have to deal with the hassles of having a kid. They… they gave me a plane ticket back home. Back to Montana."

"You're leaving? Leaving Amity Park?" he paused. "Leaving me?" I nodded. "Tomorrow. I'll be on the 12:30 flight." I looked up at him. "You'll come to say goodbye, right?" Danny nodded. "Yeah. Yeah, I'll come to say goodbye."

No more days left. Time was up.

* * *

Amity Park, New York airport. What once made me so excited and so filled with hope and plans for a possible future to get away from Montana…

Were all thrown out the window now. I stood in front of Danny and Tucker, suitcase in one hand, my camera in another. "I can't believe you're leaving already. It's only Wednesday! You're supposed to have two more days left here!" Tucker said. "Yeah, well, dear mother and father wanted me gone." I paused to wipe my eyes. "I mean… I know my parents and I don't know each other all that well, but…"

"It still hurt." Danny finished, nodding. _"Flight 104 to Montana, now boarding." _

"Well, that's my cue to leave."

"Wait… Sam, I have to tell you something."

"What?"

"Well, I kinda…um… sorta…" listen to that. Times five minutes of it.

"Last call for flight 104 to Montana."

"Last call? Oh, my gosh!" I gave Tucker a hug, then gave Danny a big hug and ran toward the gate. Faintly, I heard Danny yell, "Sam! Wait, I have something to tell you…!" I didn't have time to stop, I had to catch my flight.

* * *

Sighing I settled into my airplane seat and turned on my camera. "There. This was my trip to New York. I'm not… entirely sure if this will be part of my journalism article-thing, but I'll just transfer what I'm about to say next to my article. I guess. Okay," I paused to rub my eyes again. "In conclusion to my article on how parents and their roles in the life of a teenager…the answer to that is… they don't. Parents are nothing but trouble. And teenagers are right to tell them to leave them alone and stay out of their lives. And that is all I have to say on the matter." And I turned the camera off.

**_The End_**

* * *

Yes, that is the end. I rather like where I ended it. Though... maybe most of you... will not.


End file.
